1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to barriers for equestrian competition, training, and exhibitions. More specifically, the invention is an equestrian standard and jump cup that is easily and accurately adjustable along the standard.
2. Description of the Related Art
One aspect of equestrian competition and exhibition is jumping in which a horse and rider jump over an obstacle, often referred to as a "barrier". Often the barrier is constituted of a pair of upright stands, known as "standards", a pair of blocks, known as "jump cups", movably mounted on the standards, and a pole extending horizontally between the jump cups. The rider directs the horse to jump over the pole. In competition, scoring is based on the number of poles cleared by the horse, and the height at which the various poles are set. The height of the poles is frequently changed based on the different riders, different horses, and the particular competition or exhibition.
To provide flexibility, an equestrian barrier known as a "caveletti" has been developed. A caveletti can be oriented in different manners and stacked upon other cavelettis to present barriers of different heights. However, stacking can provide a very unstable arrangement. Also, when using cavelettis, several pieces must be transported to the site of the competition in order to provide a wide range of barrier heights.
There have been several attempts to provide an equestrian barrier that is easy to setup and adjust. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,920 discloses a rectangular block which can be stacked with other similar blocks to provide barrier supports of varying heights. However, this device inherently has the same limitations as a caveletti, i.e. low stability and many pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,309 discloses an equestrian standard having a supporting block that can be positioned and fixed at intervals along the standard to provide a barrier having variable height. The supporting block has a pivoting lever attached thereto which engagements with one of plural notches formed on an outer surface of the support while a flat surface of the block abuts a flat inner surface of the support. The lever has a release mechanism which permits movement of the block downward in the event that the horse fails to clear the barrier and falls downward on the bar. The release mechanism is incorporated in the lever and the block is free to move along the support absent the retaining function of the lever. For this reason, the adjustment of the jump cup is not always precise.